1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates to a communication device provided with a personal information storing device that stores information for a specific individual, which can be input or output via a telecommunication line, and a general information storing device that stores information, which can be input or output via a telecommunication line and which is not addressed to the specific individual.
2. Description of Related Art
Conventional facsimile terminal equipment is provided with plural memory areas called message boxes. Each message box stores information for a specific individual. The memory areas are respectively allocated to a different specific individual. Facsimile data or voice data are stored in the message box by first specifying the number of the message box in an automatic message recording mode and then sending facsimile or voice data via a telephone line from another facsimile terminal, for example.
The specific individual who wants to know the contents of a message addressed to himself/herself directly operates facsimile terminal equipment by a predetermined operation including the input of personal identification numbers to extract the contents of his/her own message box. The specific individual can also access the message box from another facsimile terminal equipment via a telephone line and can retrieve the contents of his/her own message box. If data stored in the memory area corresponding to his/her own message box is facsimile data, it can be printed out on recording paper. If data stored in a memory area corresponding to his/her own message box is voice data, it can be reproduced from a speaker as voice.
Such facsimile terminal equipment is also normally provided with plural memory areas, each of which is called a general mail box, for storing information not addressed to a specific individual. The above facsimile terminal equipment is constituted so that voice data or facsimile data, which is input via a telecommunication line in an automatic message recording mode and which is not addressed to a specific individual, is stored in the general mail box. The contents of the general mail box can be retrieved from another facsimile terminal equipment at a remote location via a telecommunication line. Such facsimile terminal equipment is constituted so that the operation for retrieving a message from the general message box and the operation for retrieving a message from the general mail box are completely independent and both cannot be sequentially executed with a telephone line connected.
Therefore, if both a message stored in the message box for a specific individual and a message stored in the general mail box and not addressed to a specific individual are retrieved via a telephone line utilizing facsimile terminal equipment at a destination, there is a problem that the messages cannot be sequentially retrieved. That is, the telephone receiver must be hung up after the message stored in a message box is retrieved before retrieving the message stored in the general mail box. This complicates message retrieval operations and increases costs.